Another Possibility
by Redhead2
Summary: Suppose Samantha had her own ideas of how things should end up.


Disclaimer: I don't own Mutant X or the characters.  
  
Another Possibility  
  
Note: The neat thing about an episode like this is that the possibilities are truly endless. What if Samantha wasn't willing to give up the connection she found with Brennan? What if she was willing to let one person die? What are the possibilities?  
  
"I think I can do this." Jesse announced after examining the bomb for the second time. "All I have to do is phase my hands around it and then mass and break all the connections at the same time. It should work.  
  
"Ok, get ready," Brennan said as he lifted his hand to speak. "Shal, did you find Lexa?" He frowned when he didn't get an answer. "Shal, what's going on?" His heart nearly stopped when he heard Lexa's broken voice reply.  
  
"Guys," she began to cry, "Shalimar's dead."  
  
Without a moment's hesitation Brennan was in front of Samantha. "Take us back."  
  
"What? No, I can't. This is the closest we've come to stopping this bomb." She looked into Brennan's eyes. Up to this point she could feel that they were in complete unity in their efforts to prevent this catastrophe. Now she could see that all that was on Brennan's mind was the feral. Would he risk the mission for this? Would he really risk hundreds of lives to save one girl?  
  
He grabbed her arms in desperation. "Shal's dead. You have to take us back."  
  
"Ok, I'll try." Samantha put her arms around Brennan and silently apologized. With a cry of pain she collapsed in his arms.  
  
"Samantha, what happened?"  
  
"I don't know," she said weakly. "I'm so weak. I---I---I can't. I'm sorry. Help me up, I'll try again." She kept her eyes closed as Brennan lifted her to her feet and supported her weight against him. She could feel his muscles rippling against her. Again she 'tried' and screamed louder. This time she 'passed out' and let her head fall backwards convincingly.  
  
"Samantha," he shook her slightly. "Samantha," he looked in horror at Jesse.  
  
"I've got to do this, man. Then maybe she can take us back just to save Shalimar."  
  
Brennan almost stopped thinking. Shalimar dead and Samantha in bad shape in his arms; it was more than he could bear. He numbly nodded as he looked back at the woman in his arms and pulled her close. Had he only been able to see her smile into his chest?  
  
"AAHH!" Jesse yelled as his hands took a shock from the diffusion. "I did it. It's over. Let's get out of here." Jesse went over to his friend. "Come on, Brennan, we have to go." Jesse pushed him as he seemed reluctant to move. Speaking louder he said, "Lexa, we're coming out. Get to the Helix and contact the Dominion to take care of Shal." He heard the barest whisper of a response and made his way with Brennan and Samantha to meet her.  
  
Back at Sanctuary, Samantha began to come around before Jesse had a chance to scan her. Brennan rushed to her side. "Brennan, Brennan, is it over? Did we get the bomb?"  
  
"Yeah," he whispered, "it's over."  
  
"Thank God."  
  
"Samantha, do you remember what happened before you passed out?" He watched her hoping for a miracle he doubted he'd get.  
  
"I---oh no, Shalimar," She looked sadly into his eyes.  
  
"Can you get me back there?" Brennan pleaded.  
  
Sitting up with help she wrapped her arms around his neck, "I'll try."  
  
Her powers initiated and when it stopped Brennan looked around quickly realizing where he was as Samantha screamed and passed out in his arms. Sadly he relived it---again.  
  
This time when she awoke in Sanctuary he didn't ask her again. He just moved to her side and tried to be there for her as she recovered.  
  
Jesse didn't understand. "Samantha, can you get us back to save Shalimar?"  
  
He watched in confusion as Samantha and Brennan shared a sorrowful glance. "No, we can't," Brennan whispered then embraced Samantha as he began to cry.  
  
"What? We have to at least try." Jesse demanded.  
  
"We just did." Samantha turned in Brennan's arms. "I couldn't go back far enough. Because I've gone back in this event so many times I've been weakened. Each time now, I can only go back a shorter distance. We just went back but got there right after she died. I'm sorry." She turned and wrapped her arms around Brennan tighter.  
  
"Brennan took a deep breath and stood tall. "Come on, I'll get you settled into a room. You need to rest." He led her out of the lab.  
  
That night Brennan went in to check on Samantha. "I brought you something to eat."  
  
"Thank you. Come in." Samantha smiled as she watched him walk in. She knew he was still thinking about Shalimar and needed to get his mind to focus on her. She knew he had feelings for her. She just needed to bring them back to the surface. "You know, I've been trying to stop that bomb for so long now that I can hardly believe its over."  
  
"I know you've gone through a lot. I could feel all the pressure the few times I traveled with you."  
  
"I wish I knew why it happened that way. I was never able to take anyone with me, before. It was almost as if it was meant to happen." She moved closer to him. "I was really scared for a while." She sat on the bed and wrapped her arms around herself.  
  
Hearing her voice crack he felt for her and moved to sit next to her. Wrapping his arms around her he tried to comfort her. "You're safe now. You don't have to go through that anymore." He looked down into her teary eyes. Like before in the lab, he seemed to be drawn to her. Needing comfort himself, he leaned in and gently kissed her lips. There tender kiss deepened as he put one arm out to support himself as he leaned her back on the bed. He remained like that, laying over her as he kissed her hungrily. Suddenly he stopped and pushed himself up. "I'm sorry. I can't do this right now." He stood and walked toward the door. "Not now," he whispered. "It's too soon." He turned sad eyes on her and said, "I'll see you tomorrow." Leaving quickly he shut the door behind him.  
  
Walking aimlessly through Sanctuary he found Jesse in the kitchen. "Hey,"  
  
"Hey, yourself. Did you check on Samantha?"  
  
"Yeah, she's all right."  
  
Jesse smirked at him as he handed him a napkin, "Just all right?" He gestured making Brennan know to wipe his face. When he pulled the napkin away there was lipstick on it. "Want to talk about it?" He watched as Brennan sat at the table then sat across from him. Neither man heard the soft footfalls stop just outside the door.  
  
"This is so strange, Jess. I feel so close to Samantha, like I've known her for years, ya know? I'm really attracted to her. We were just kissing in her room---"  
  
"Yeah, no kidding." Jesse smirked.  
  
"It just didn't feel right, somehow. I know that Shalimar and I never really had anything going. I've dated other girls recently. But now with Shal gone---" Brennan dropped his head.  
  
"You really loved her."  
  
"I never told her. I thought we had time, that one day it would feel like the right time and I would tell her."  
  
"She loved you." Jesse saw Brennan look up at him in surprise. "Aw come on, man. I know you knew. We all knew for a long time. She was just afraid that maybe you wouldn't feel as strongly as she did."  
  
"Now it's too late. I'll never be able to tell her how much I really loved her." Brennan put his head back down on his hands. "I wasted my time and now I've lost her forever."  
  
"No you haven't."  
  
Both men's heads snapped around to see Samantha standing in the doorway. "Samantha?" Brennan looked at her.  
  
"Just promise me one thing. Once you get her back, never let her go." She leaned in and kissed his cheek as she initiated her powers.  
  
Brennan stared at her with a mix of emotions when he finally realized where and when they were. "Samantha, what happened?"  
  
"Just remember what you promised me."  
  
Before he could question her further, he heard his team come through the door at the end of the hall. His heart nearly stopped in his chest when he saw Shalimar walk up to him and smile. Without thinking of anyone but her he wrapped her in a tight embrace.  
  
"Hey, what's going on?" She could barely speak for as tight as he held her.  
  
Realizing that she hadn't a clue as to his actions he quickly released her and began to give instructions. Bacshe has a remote to the bomb. Lexa take Shalimar and go to the Helix. Find the signal and jam it."  
  
"I really don't think I need Shalimar to help me jam a signal," Lexa argued.  
  
"I'll go out and---" Shalimar began.  
  
"NO!" Brennan suddenly had everyone's attention. He took Shalimar's hands in his and lowered his voice. "I'm sorry. Please, just trust me and I'll explain everything when we get back home." He released her as he watched her eyes. He could see that she was wondering but that she trusted him. He finally saw in her eyes that which he was always afraid to look for---love. He smiled at her as he thought to himself, 'Jesse was right. There is something there.' He watched the girls leave and turned to Jesse. "You were right, Jesse, I can finally see it."  
  
"See what, Brennan?" Jesse was lost.  
  
Chuckling to himself he said, "Never mind. Listen, this is what you have to do to the bomb. The rest proceeded as it had before except when the Helix was ready to go home Samantha was not on board. Brennan stood at the hatch. "I really don't know how to thank you."  
  
"Don't," she replied. "Just tell her and be happy." She tiptoed and kissed his cheek. "Goodbye, Brennan." She turned and walked away.  
  
At Sanctuary after dinner, Brennan knocked on Shalimar's door. "Come in."  
  
He opened the door slowly as he took a deep breath. Walking in, he just stood there and looked at her.  
  
"What's up, Brennan?"  
  
"I---um---wanted to talk to you about earlier." He closed the door and moved closer to her.  
  
"I thought something was up. That was really weird." She moved to her bed and sat down. "Come sit down." She smiled innocently at him feeling his tension in the air.  
  
Slowly sitting next to her he took her hands in his. "Shalimar, you need to know something. Before this last jump in time, we defused the bomb and the mission was resolved." He saw the confusion in her eyes.  
  
"If the bomb was taken care of why did we make another jump?"  
  
"We didn't at first. Samantha came home with me, Jesse and --- Lexa." He stopped and looked into her eyes.  
  
She gasped as a frightening thought passed through her mind. "Brennan, what are you saying?"  
  
"Something happened and you---died." He looked down as he caressed her hands. "I realized something. I realized that I've been such a fool. I was afraid and I wasted precious time; time that I'll never get back."  
  
She slowly pulled one hand from his and touched his face. Lifting his chin she met his eyes with compassion and confusion. "Brennan, what are you talking about? What have you been afraid of?"  
  
Remembering what Jesse said and what he saw in her eyes he leaned in and whispered, "this." He gently placed his lips over hers and froze as he waited for her response.  
  
Shalimar was shocked. She had waited so long for this moment. Brennan was really kissing her. Allowing the realization to settle in that this wasn't another dream, she gently began to kiss him back.  
  
After a lingering kiss, Brennan moved back and gazed at her. "I love you."  
  
Smiling wide she flung her arms around his neck. "I've dreamed so many times of you really saying that."  
  
He embraced her and whispered in her ear, "I can't lose you. I can't spend another minute without you. I've wasted so much time that we could have been together. Please say you're willing to give me a chance to prove to you how much I love you."  
  
Pulling back and taking his face in her hands she smiled at him. "Brennan, I love you."  
  
She watched as his eyes suddenly went from sad and regretful to dark and filled with desire. The shiver that ran up her spine was the last thing she felt before Brennan moved in and claimed the lips that he'd been aching for. They spent the rest of the night proving to each other that nothing would ever come between them. 


End file.
